Ecumenical institutions and organizations--Institute for Ecumenical Research

Continuing a series of posts calling attention to selected resources featured in Appendix 1, "Resources for Ecumenical Engagement," in Ecumenism Means You, Too: Ordinary Christians and the Quest for Christian Unity (Cascade Books, 2010):

Sponsored by the Lutheran World Federation, the Institute for Ecumenical Research in Strasbourg, France seeks to bring together scholarly research and service to the churches in three major areas of work: ecumenical research, ecumenical dialogue, and ecumenical communication and reception. The Institute is staffed by full-time research professors, adjunct professors, and visiting professors; maintains a specialized library; and offers an annual Summer International Ecumenical Seminar. The newsletter of the Institute is available online.

Interested in Ecumenism Means You, Too? Order the book directly from Cascade Books or via Amazon.

Gratitude for James Leo Garrett, Jr.

Yesterday my Facebook home page reminded me that November 25 was James Leo Garrett, Jr.’s 84th birthday. The coincidence of Dr. Garrett’s birthday with Thanksgiving Day reminded me how thankful I am for the life, ministry, and influence of my doctoral dissertation supervisor.

In November 2005 I had the privilege of presenting a Festschrift issue of the journal Perspectives in Religious Studies published in honor of Dr. Garrett’s 80th birthday at a meeting of the National Association of Baptist Professors of Religion in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. Below are the remarks I prepared for that occasion:

On behalf of the editors of the NABPR Festschriften Series, it’s my pleasure to announce that the 2006 Festschrift honors James Leo Garrett, Jr., Distinguished Professor of Systematic Theology, Emeritus at Southwestern Baptist Theological Seminary. Edited by Bill Brackney, who was unable to be here today, the theme of this Festschrift is “Theology in Conversation.” This is a most appropriate theme, for Leo Garrett’s theological work and ecclesial and ecumenical endeavors have always been carried out in conversation with others. If you’ve utilized Dr. Garrett’s two-volume Systematic Theology, you have some sense of the historical depth, the ecumenical breadth, and the sheer quantity of his theological conversation partners.

Seven contributors explore various dimensions of theology done in conversation: Steve Harmon on Karl Barth’s conversation with the fathers as a paradigm for patristic retrieval in Baptist and evangelical theology; Bob Patterson on James Leo Garrett and the doctrine of revelation; Derek Davis on Baptists and the American tradition of religious liberty; Charles Deweese on the Lordship of Christ, biblical authority, and religious liberty in Baptist World Congresses, 1905-1955; Paul Sands on the wider ecumenism of Hans Küng; Bill Brackney revisiting the question debated by Leo Garrett and Glenn Hinson, “Are Baptists Evangelicals?”; and finally a bibliography of the scholarship of James Leo Garrett prepared by Ben Phillips. A softcover version will appear as the Spring 2006 issue of Perspectives in Religious Studies, and there will also be a hardcover edition, which we hope you’ll encourage your libraries to purchase.

This is the year of Leo Garrett’s 80th birthday, but his contributions to Baptist theological scholarship continue. He’s currently working on a major monograph on Baptist theology, forthcoming [now available] from Mercer University Press. As Bill Brackney writes in the introduction to the Festschrift, “During a period of upsetting organizational and institutional change in the Southern Baptist family, James Leo Garrett has been a solid bulwark of consistent Baptist belief and interpretation, a model of integrity in relationships….We are all indebted to [him] for his personal and professional contributions to our lives.” Although he’s not here, let’s honor James Leo Garrett, Jr. with our applause.

My contribution to the Festschrift—a revision of which appears as chapter 7 of my book Towards Baptist Catholicity—included this note:

I am pleased to offer this contribution in honor of my dissertation supervisor James Leo Garrett, Jr., whose own work has served as a worthy model of Baptist theology done in conversation with the church in its catholicity.

I doubt that I'd be on my current trajectory as a Baptist ecumenical theologian apart from Dr. Garrett's formative influence. I am grateful.

“Almighty God, you gave to your servant James Leo Garrett, Jr. special gifts of grace to understand and teach the truth as it is in Christ Jesus: Grant that by this teaching we may know you, the one true God, and Jesus Christ whom you have sent; who lives and reigns with you and the Holy Spirit, one God, for ever and ever. Amen.” (Collect for the Common of Saints, “Of a Theologian and Teacher,” from the Book of Common Prayer)

Regent's Reviews reviews Ecumenism Means You, Too

The current issue of Regent's Reviews (vol. 2, no. 1; October 2010) published by Regent's Park College of Oxford University includes a review of Ecumenism Means You, Too: Ordinary Christians and the Quest for Christian Unity (Cascade Books, 2010). The review by Myra Blyth of the Regent's Park/Oxford faculty appears on pp. 7-8. The full issue is available online in PDF (click on the hyperlinked title above). Here's an excerpt from the review:

This book tries from the outset to buck the trend and present ecumenism as earthy, populist and accessible. That is no mean feat and what is even more remarkable is that it sets about this task in a way that does not dumb down the subject matter. On the contrary it is deeply reflective and well supported by an appendix that points the reader to important primary and secondary sources for further study.

I warm to this unique energetic presentation of the ecumenical vision and would recommend it to students of theology and to those in ministerial training as a great accessible primer.

This book-–in the words of the Harmon (a Baptist and member of the WCC’s Faith and Order Commission)-–“invokes the theological dimensions of U2’s songs when they cast artistic light on various aspects of the quest for Christian Unity”. This is an inspired and inspiring quest. It brings the politics of Ireland-–the homeland of the band members--and the fragmented state of the church into the spotlight of their song lyrics and offers a critique of both against the narrative of Jesus. This is an exciting dialogue between theology and popular culture which relocates ecumenism in the real world rather than in some ecclesiastical backwater.

Interested in Ecumenism Means You, Too? Order the book directly from Cascade Books or via Amazon.

Ecumenical institutions and organizations--Graymoor Ecumenical and Interreligious Institute

Continuing a series of posts calling attention to selected resources featured in Appendix 1, "Resources for Ecumenical Engagement," in Ecumenism Means You, Too: Ordinary Christians and the Quest for Christian Unity (Cascade Books, 2010):

As a ministry of the Franciscan Friars of the Atonement, the mission of the Graymoor Ecumenical and Interreligious Institute is to promote Christian unity and interreligious dialogue in North America. It seeks to fulfill this mission by engaging in study and research in the ecumenical and interreligious movements through writing, workshops, and participation in dialogues between and among the churches as well as with different faith communities at the local and national level; by offering personal expertise on ecumenical and interreligious matters, making staff available upon request for lectures and short courses, and offering information to news media and researchers; publication of the journal Ecumenical Trends and publication and distribution of resource materials for the annual observance of the Week of Prayer for Christian Unity; and by co-sponsorship of the biennial Northeast Ecumenical Institute at Graymoor and faculty participation in an annual summer course which introduces students to ecumenical and interreligious movements at the Centro Pro Unione in Rome.

Interested in Ecumenism Means You, Too? Order the book directly from Cascade Books or via Amazon.

Ecumenical institutions and organizations--Churches Uniting in Christ

Continuing a series of posts calling attention to selected resources featured in Appendix 1, "Resources for Ecumenical Engagement," in Ecumenism Means You, Too: Ordinary Christians and the Quest for Christian Unity (Cascade Books, 2010):

Churches Uniting in Christ is a relationship among ten Christian communions that have pledged to live more closely together in expressing their unity in Christ and to combat racism together. CUIC is both an outgrowth of and successor to the Consultation on Church Union (COCU), an organization that worked for more than 40 years toward the day when Christians can become more fully reconciled to each other. Member communions presently include the African Methodist Episcopal Church, the African Methodist Episcopal Zion Church, the Christian Church (Disciples of Christ), the Christian Methodist Episcopal Church, the Episcopal Church USA, the International Council of Community Churches, the Moravian Church Northern Province, the Presbyterian Church (USA), the United Church of Christ, and the United Methodist Church, with the Evangelical Lutheran Church in America having the status “Partners in Mission and Dialogue.”

Interested in Ecumenism Means You, Too? Order the book directly from Cascade Books or via Amazon.

Ecumenical institutions and organizations--Christian Churches Together in the USA

Continuing a series of posts calling attention to selected resources featured in Appendix 1, "Resources for Ecumenical Engagement," in Ecumenism Means You, Too: Ordinary Christians and the Quest for Christian Unity (Cascade Books, 2010):

Officially organized in 2006, Christian Churches Together is intended as a forum of ecumenical dialogue and witness involving the participation of representatives from all five major Christian families of churches in the United States: Catholic, Orthodox, historic Protestant, evangelical/Pentecostal, and historic racial/ethnic. (A listing of participating churches and organizations, which includes the Cooperative Baptist Fellowship to which I belong, is available here.) The organization seeks to provide a context—marked by prayer, theological dialogue and fellowship—in which churches can develop relationships with other churches with whom they presently have little contact, and it hopes to offer a significant and credible voice in speaking to contemporary culture on issues of life, social justice and peace.

Interested in Ecumenism Means You, Too? Order the book directly from Cascade Books or via Amazon.

New publication--chapter in "All Shall Be Well": Explorations in Universal Salvation and Christian Theology, from Origen to Moltmann

"All Shall Be Well": Explorations in Universal Salvation and Christian Theology, from Origen to Moltmann, ed. Gregory MacDonald (Cascade Books, 2010), to which I contributed the chapter on Gregory of Nyssa, is now available for order (click on hyperlinked title). The publisher's description of the book and table of contents follow.

"All shall be well, and all shall be well, and all manner of thing shall be well."--Lady Julian of Norwich

Universalism runs like a slender thread through the history of Christian theology. It has always been a minority report and has often been regarded as heresy, but it has proven to be a surprisingly resilient "idea." Over the centuries Christian universalism, in one form or another, has been reinvented time and time again.

In this book an international team of scholars explore the diverse universalisms of Christian thinkers from the Origen to Moltmann. In the introduction Gregory MacDonald argues that theologies of universal salvation occupy a space between heresy and dogma. Therefore disagreements about whether all will be saved should not be thought of as debates between "the orthodox" and "heretics" but rather as "in-house" debates between Christians.

The studies that follow aim, in the first instance, to hear, understand, and explain the eschatological claims of a range of Christians from the third to the twenty-first centuries. They also offer some constructive, critical engagement with those claims.

1. Introduction: Between Heresy and Dogma—Gregory MacDonald

I. Third to Fifteenth Centuries

2. Apokatastasis: Particularist Universalism in Origen (c.185–c.254)—Tom Greggs

3. The Subjection of All Things in Christ: The Christocentric Universalism of Gregory of Nyssa (331/340–c.395)—Steven R. Harmon

4. Sin Has Its Place, but All Shall Be Well: The Universalism of Hope in Julian of Norwich (c.1342–c.1416)—Robert Sweetman

II. Seventeenth to Nineteenth Centuries

5. L ove Is all and God Is Love: Universalism in Peter Sterry (1613–1672) and Jeremiah White (1630–1707)—Louise Hickman

6. Union with Christ: The Calvinist Universalism of James Relly (1722–1778)—Wayne K. Clymer

7. Between Calvinism and Arminianism: The Evangelical Universalism of Elhanan Winchester (1751–1797)—Robin Parry

8. Salvation-in-Community: The Tentative Universalism of Friedrich Schleiermacher (1768–1834)—Murray Rae

9. Postmortem Education: Universal Salvation in Thomas Erskine (1788–1870)—Don Horrocks

10. The Just Mercy of God: Universal Salvation in George MacDonald (1824–1905)—Thomas Talbott

III. Twentieth Century

11. The Final Sanity is Complete Sanctity: Universal Holiness in the Soteriology of P. T. Forsyth (1848–1921)—Jason A. Goroncy

12. The Judgment of Love: The Ontological Universalism of Sergius Bulgakov (1871–1944)—Paul Gavrilyuk

13. I do teach it, but I also do not teach it: The Universalism of Karl Barth (1886–1968)—Oliver D. Crisp

14. The Totality of Condemnation Fell on Christ: Universal Salvation in Jaques Ellul (1912–1994)—Andrew Goddard

15. In the End, God...: The Christian Universalism of J. A. T. Robinson (1919–1983)—Trevor Hart

16. Christ’s Descent into Hell: The Hopeful Universalism of Hans Urs von Balthasar (1905–1988)—Edward T. Oakes, SJ

17. Hell and the God of Love: Universalism in the Philosophy of John Hick (1922–)—Lindsay Hall

18. The Annihilation of Hell and the Perfection of Freedom: Universal Salvation in the Theology of Jürgen Moltmann (1926–)—Nik Ansell

Ecumenical institutions and organizations: Centro Pro Unione

Continuing a series of posts calling attention to selected resources featured in Appendix 1, "Resources for Ecumenical Engagement," in Ecumenism Means You, Too: Ordinary Christians and the Quest for Christian Unity (Cascade Books, 2010):

Founded and directed by the Society of the Atonement, the Centro Pro Unione (“Center for Union”) is an ecumenical research and action center. Its purpose is to give space for dialogue, and to be a place for study, research, and formation in ecumenism: theological, pastoral, social, and spiritual. The Centro maintains a research library, publishes the Centro Pro Unione Bulletin, hosts lectures and conferences, supplies material in support of the annual Week of Prayer for Christian Unity (see below under “Prayer for Christian Unity”), and offers a graduate-level Summer Course in Ecumenism.

Interested in Ecumenism Means You, Too? Order the book directly from Cascade Books or via Amazon.

Robert Jenson on Canon and Creed, Scripture and Theology

I'm enthusiastic about this most recent book by Lutheran theologian Robert Jenson. Canon and Creed (Westminster John Knox Press, 2010) is the latest release in the WJK series Interpretation: Resources for the Use of Scripture in the Church. An important and accessible contribution to the growing body of literature advocating a theological reading of Scripture that is enriched rather than supplanted by historical-critical methodologies, Jenson's book clearly and compellingly sets forth a case I've tried to argue now and then in my own ecclesial context. Here's a snippet from the book's introduction (more extensive preview selections are available on the WJK page for Canon and Creed):

It may even be that it is precisely because the mutuality of canon and creed has slipped from our grasp that so many other aspects of the church's life do the same. For canon and creed appeared in the church's history as--or so the church has believed--Spirit-given reminders of what sort of community the church must be if it is indeed to be church; thus alienation from the mutual import of canon and creed may be occasioned by, and in turn occasion, alienation from the church's reason for existence. If we cannot say what it means for the affairs of the church that we have these particular Scriptures, or what convictions center and delimit the life of the church, or how our Scripture and our convictions work together, how do we make an identifiable community? . . .

The structure of a community's self-identity through time depends on what sort of community it is, and so then does the nature of possible threats to that identity. What sort of community is the church? Perhaps we may find ecumenical agreement in a truly minimal proposition: the church is the community of a message, that the God of Israel has raised his servant Jesus from the dead. Anyone who cannot agree even to so much belongs to a different religious community than do the author and initially intended readers of this book--though of course all are welcome to eavesdrop and even intrude on the conversation.

Ecumenical institutions and organizations: Center for Catholic and Evangelical Theology

Continuing a series of posts calling attention to selected resources featured in Appendix 1, "Resources for Ecumenical Engagement," in Ecumenism Means You, Too: Ordinary Christians and the Quest for Christian Unity (Cascade Books, 2010):

The Center for Catholic and Evangelical Theology is an ecumenical organization that seeks to cultivate faithfulness to the gospel of Jesus Christ throughout the churches by nurturing theology that is catholic and evangelical, obedient to Holy Scripture and committed to the dogmatic, liturgical, ethical, and institutional continuity of the church. The Center challenges the churches to claim their identity as members of the One, Holy, Catholic and Apostolic Church. It affirms the Great Tradition and seeks to stimulate fresh thinking and passion for mission. To achieve this goal the Center sponsors projects, conferences, and publications (including the journal Pro Ecclesia and several books). [description from the Center's web site]

Interested in Ecumenism Means You, Too? Order the book directly from Cascade Books or via Amazon.